If Max Verstappen took all the spotlight in Las Vegas following his fourth world crown, it was indeed George Russell who was the man of the weekend, dominating the race head and shoulders after being awarded pole position a day before. The Mercedes F1 driver therefore returned with pleasure to this demonstration.
“I was really surprised how strong our pace was and I was very happy to get pole on Saturday. Then I think we won the race in the first stint. To be honest, this one It was exceptional. And I knew that from then on the only way to lose the victory would be to grain the tires and damage them. So it was just a matter of managing my pace, managing the right corners and. bring home victory.”
After taking pole, the British driver said he did not understand why his W15 had been so fast on Saturday. Does he now know more after this victory?
“Yes, I think that's the case. It's no secret that we struggle on bumpy tracks and we have to lift the car a lot. We have to make it a lot smoother. And then we find ourselves in a window of abatement where we don't have one. It's not that we suddenly forgot how to set the car. It's just that some circuits require us to place the car in a window that it doesn't. don't like it. And on circuits like this, where the track is relatively smooth, we can put the car low enough, stiff enough, with little to no bumps around the track, and we fly.”
George Russell is now optimistic for the next Grand Prix.
“I think we have a good chance in Qatar. Before this triple header, I was aiming for Qatar, to the point where I wanted to take out my freshest engine and put in an old one for Vegas, to save my best engine for the Qatar. But I'm glad I didn't.”
We can imagine that the entire Mercedes F1 team went to celebrate this success as it should be in Las Vegas. But where did the party take place?
“I don't know. I mean, I don't party that often. I don't know where I should go, but I'll go somewhere. I told my team I'm staying the night.”
Russell then turned to his teammate Lewis Hamilton: “Lewis will probably have a better idea than me. So where to party?”
“I have no idea!” replied the seven-time world champion.
While waiting to go to the party, Russell in any case refrained from jumping into the fountain! Which didn't stop him from arriving soaked at the press conference following the podium celebration.
“I really wanted to do it, but I was so cold after the race that I thought I was going to get really sick. Last year around this time I got pneumonia and was sick until mid-February after Vegas and Abu Dhabi At the time, I really wanted to do it, but I thought about the difficulties I had 12 months ago, because the body in it. takes a hit. It's because of the champagne, to be honest, I was soaked.”
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